Published: June 19, 2008 12:06 am      

Sowers projected to be starting safety

MORGANTOWN — Nate Sowers, a two-time converted quarterback, now is projected to be a starting strong safety for West Virginia University ’s football team this fall.

The 6-2, 220-pound junior from Martinsburg has learned to like playing defense since switching to that side of the ball in the middle of the 2007 season.

While recruited as a highly rated quarterback in 2005, Sowers eventually moved to wide receiver, where he saw little action. Then it was to the defensive secondary.

“I’m settled in now at strong safety,” he said. “Hopefully, there will be no more position-changing for me. I’m concentrating solely on playing safety and I don’t want to move.

“It’s an opportunity for me to play regularly. I’ve taken a liking to defense again. I always had fun running around and hitting people in high school.”

When he wasn’t rewriting Martinsburg High’s record book on offense at quarterback, Sowers saw action as a safety. He’s very athletic, quick, fast and smart.

“I’m more of a technician guy (at safety) than I was as a receiver,” he said. “Your form is a little off and you have to knock off a few pounds. I think it’s good as far as injuries go. But, basically, everybody is doing the same thing.”

Sowers was among the leading tacklers in this spring’s annual Gold-Blue intrasquad scrimmage with five, including four solo stops. He has played on special teams at WVU.

“There’s more to defense than just running around,” he said. “The spring work I got really helped me out. I’m getting more and more comfortable with playing safety. So I’ve started to enjoy it more.

“It’s even fun out there now playing seven-on-seven in our summer workouts.”

Sowers admittedly is still learning from teammates who have been D-backs much longer than he has. So he’s becoming more comfortable in doing what he’s supposed to do.

“Not just in what I do but what others do,” he explained. “Communication is the big thing, and that’s what we’re continuing to work on this summer. Spring was the first time I worked at safety here.”

Sowers is trying to understand not only all aspects of his position but all those of every member of the defensive unit, he noted. In the process, he admittedly has learned a lot playing on both sides of the ball.

“I’m trying to understand the whole game and how it works,” he said. “No, I don’t have any regrets about anything that I’ve done. I feel like I’m now at a spot where I can really concentrate on it.”

He was Kennedy Award winner as the state’s high school player of the year in 2005. He led Martinsburg to a 50-5 record during his four years there. For his career, he passed for 8,515 career yards and 113 touchdowns and rushed for 2,427 yards and 38 scores.

Sowers was a member of the National Honor Society in high school and is on the WVU athletic director’s honor roll.